Snow
by snapealina
Summary: Severus and Remus are invited to a Christmas party, which one of them is a bit more determined to get to than the other.


Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or places mentioned even if I did visit the Elephant House and looked at Edinburgh castle in the middle of writing this fic.

A/N: This story came to me while I was stuck at airports all day trying to get to Edinburgh, Scotland. Let's just say I'm with Severus on this one...

**SNOW**

"Severus!" Remus shouted from the kitchen in their house on Spinner's End. "Severus, wake up!"

Severus Snape felt as if he had just fallen asleep and was in no mood to get up. Remus stormed into the bedroom and started shaking his poor half-asleep boyfriend. "Severus, wake up! Come quick!" Remus was beaming. "You've got to come see this! It's so beautiful!"

Severus sighed loudly. "Why can't you just tell me, Remus? If I'm supposed to have the energy to attend the Christmas party at Hogwarts this evening I need to get some sleep. You never know what Longbottom might blow up while we're there." He pulled the covers over his head and turned his back on the werewolf who was practically jumping at his side.

But Remus wouldn't let this go and made the covers fly off the bed leaving a cold and naked Severus freezing on the bed.

Severus jumped up. "What was that for?" he yelled. He grabbed a robe and quickly put it on, pulling it tight around his freezing body. "What is it that is so bloody important this early in the morning?"

"Follow me, Severus" Remus smiled and ran down to the kitchen. Severus followed albeit somewhat more slowly.

He entered the kitchen were Remus stood ready by the window facing the backyard. Remus pointed outside. "Look, Severus. Isn't it beautiful?"

Severus rubbed his sleepy eyes and looked outside. "What exactly are we looking at, wolf?" he asked yawning.

"Snow!" Remus said cheerfully.

"Snow?" Severus couldn't believe his own ears. "You woke me up for snow?"

"But look, Severus, it looks like a winter wonderland out there." The other wizard couldn't understand his boyfriend's lack of enthusiasm.

"You woke me up for snow?" Severus repeated. "Lupin, you've reached a new low."

Remus was disappointed. "I thought you'd be happy for me, Severus. You know how much I love snow."

"And you know I don't," Severus muttered and headed back to the bedroom. "And here I was actually starting to think that it was something important."

"It _is_ important. You can't have Christmas without snow." Remus tried to explain to his partner.

Oh, I would have survived," Severus muttered and crawled into bed taking the covers with him.

Remus lay down beside him. "But Christmas and snow belong together. I never could get into the Christmas spirit without snow. And the fact that it came today is almost a miracle. The forecast said that there wouldn't be any snow before after new years."

"I would like the snow to stay away always," Severus snorted.

"Why?" Remus looked bewildered. "Snow is great."

"That's your opinion."

"How can you _not_ like snow?" Remus interrupted. "Haven't you ever stayed outside just staring at the snowflakes falling down on your nose? Not two of them are identical, you know. Isn't that astounding?"

"Not really," Severus muttered under his breath.

"And you can make all sort of things. Snow balls, snow men, fortresses, anything really." Remus could have gone on and on about the wonders of snow, but saw his boyfriend roll his eyes like only Severus could when he found his lover acting weird.

"How old are you, really?" Severus chuckled.

Remus felt insulted and got up.

"Fine." He said. "Be that way. I'm going outside to enjoy this beautiful day."

"Don't forget your mittens or you might freeze those little fingers building your fortress," Severus laughed.

Remus ignored him and went outside while Severus went back to sleep.

----

"Remus where are you?" Severus stood in the doorway calling out to the backyard. "It's about time to come back inside now."

He looked around but couldn't see the other man anywhere. "Remus?"

Severus sighed, put on a cloak and shoes and went outside to look for the werewolf. Surely he couldn't be that upset with him, as to have disappeared?

Severus walked into the yard looking around for his lover. "Remus, where are you?"

Out of nowhere a snowball flew straight past his hooked nose, missing it by an inch. Severus startled and heard someone shout "Bugger" just around the corner of the house.

He hurried around the corner and found Remus smirking and ready with a second ball which hit Severus straight in the forehead. Remus laughed heartedly. "I knew you would come sooner or later. Come look at what I have made."

Remus ran like a little kid over to a big pile of snow.

"What is this supposed to be?" Severus asked looking sceptically at the snow pile with a pointy front and two weird shaped squares sticking out on either side.

"It's a Hippogriff." Remus said proudly, smiling wide.

"A hippogriff? Really." Severus couldn't help but roll his eyes immensely.

Remus looked disappointed. "It's not easy to make one without magic" he pouted.

"Why didn't you use magic then?" Severus asked.

"Where would the fun be then?" Remus asked back.

"Well, you could have made the entire Forbidden Forest in the same amount of time it took you to do this one for starter," Severus pointed out to him.

Remus looked embarrassed. "Well, I also forgot my wand in the bedroom and didn't want to go in there and get it."

"Come on, kiddo. Let's get you inside and get you warmed up before this event you people call a party. Severus put his arm around Remus' shoulder and together they went back into the house.

"How exactly are you planning on warming me, Severus?" Remus asked eagerly.

"Well, the fireplace is lit and I have some tea ready." Severus answered absentmindedly.

"Oh," Remus looked at the ground, clearly let down.

-------

"Hurry up, Severus. We're going to be late." Remus called from the kitchen.

"Just a second." Severus answered from the bathroom.

Remus hurried upstairs. "What is taking so long?" he asked as he peered through the bathroom door, finding his lover struggling with he buttons on his right sleeve.

Remus laughed. "Wow, don't you look smart? But why are you choosing clothes with all those buttons, Severus?"

"Because I like buttons." Severus snapped back. "You like snow, I like buttons."

"But why aren't you using magic? It would be so much faster." Remus argued.

"I _said_, I like buttons!" Severus sneered.

"You're weird." Remus stated and left the room chuckling.

"Yes, _I'm_ the weird one here." Severus muttered to himself.

----

Fifteen minutes later, they were ready to go, both of them standing in front of the fireplace which was now extinguished.

"Have you got everything?" Remus asked.

"What would I bring?" Severus wondered

"Nothing. I was just checking." Remus giggled. "Well I hope we don't disturb Madam Rosmerta considering we're running a bit late."

"I highly doubt that would be a problem. Besides, isn't there a saying that's called fashionable late?" Severus pointed out.

"Well, yes there is." Remus smiled back and stepped into the fireplace. "Are you ready then?"

Severus got into the fireplace and took a firm grip around Remus' waist with one arm, the other grabbing a handful of powder. "Ready as I'll ever be for this sort of thing."

"Come on, Severus, it will be fun." Remus kissed him lightly.

"I doubt it," Severus muttered before dropping the powder and calling "Three Broomsticks, Hogsmeade."

The two wizards swirled around for several minutes, bumping their elbows and heads into all sorts of weird objects and mantle pieces.

Remus was becoming really nauseous and Severus was getting really worried that he couldn't see lights anywhere when they suddenly fell out of a fireplace and onto an extremely dusty floor.

They got up quickly and frantically started brushing each other's robes free of dust and ashes.

"Where are we?" Remus asked worriedly.

"I'm not completely sure, but I think we might be at the Hog's Head." Severus looked around and recognized the interior and smell.

As soon as he had said the name, Aberforth Dumbledore peered through the door, his wand at the ready. "Who's making this racket? What do you want?"

"It's only us, Abe," Severus said quickly, not wanting to be turned into goat food. "We're going up to Hogwarts and accidentally arrived here instead of the Three Broomsticks."

"Oh, it must be because of the blizzard," Aberforth explained.

"The blizzard?" Remus looked curious. "What blizzard?"

"It's been snowing heavily all day and most of the fireplaces have snowed shut. Therefore it's quite accidental where people end up when they use the Floo." Aberforth Dumbledore continued. "It really depends on who manages to keep their fireplace open."

"Well it seems like you're the only one, Abe. How do you do it?" Severus wondered.

"Dried goat droppings around the edges keeps the snow from blocking." Aberforth smiled.

The other two immediately stopped brushing each other and quickly grabbed their wands yelling "Scourgify", pointing at each other. Aberfort Dumbledore chuckled heartedly.

"Well we'll be off then," Remus said and started heading towards the exit door.

"Hold on, Remus." Severus stopped him and turned to Aberforth. "We're running a bit late and since we now ended up even further from our destination, I was wondering if you had two broomsticks to lend us, to save us some time?"

"Well I have brooms, but I'm not sending you two out there with any," Aberforth said firmly.

"Why not?" Remus asked.

"Take a look out the window, lad, and you'll see why. The wind and snow is just too heavy to go flying at this point." Aberforth pointed at the window.

Remus and Severus stared out the window but couldn't see anything but the colour white.

"Maybe we can owl them and tell them we'll be a bit late?" Remus suggested.

"Well good luck finding an owl that will deliver anything tonight." Aberforth mumbled back.

"What do we do then?" Remus asked worriedly.

"I suggest we go home," Severus answered a bit too quickly to Remus' liking.

"We can't go home. Not now! I've been looking forward to this party for a long time. I'm _not_ missing it!" Remus said panicking.

"Well, what do you suggest then?" Severus looked at him.

"We'll walk, and we'll get there when we get there." Remus said, buttoning up his robes, getting ready to go outside. "It's only snow. How bad can it be? Besides, we've walked this route a million times before. It won't take that long."

"Fine," Severus muttered. "But you owe me one after this, Lupin! The things I do for you…"

"And I really appreciate it, Severus. Now let's go!" he said, kissing Severus on the cheek making Aberforth Dumbledore's face sport a unsuitable shade of pink.

The two wizards opened the door and a wall of white, cold mass hit their faces. They bowed their heads and walked out to what was supposed to be a street.

They hadn't walked long when a forceful wind threw them both back several feet making Remus Lupin fall over.

Severus stretched out his hand and helped him up. "Are you sure you want to do this, Remus?" he asked.

"Yes, it's just a minor set back. We'll be fine." Remus answered and continued walking with Severus close behind him.

The same happened eight times during the next two hours and neither Severus or Remus could ever remembering the journey up to Hogwarts taking this long. Not even that time Sirius, after too many butterbeers, had persisted on them walking back to the castle backwards.

"Are you sure we're on the right path, Severus?" Remus was getting worried. They both had lit their wands as much as they could, but the only thing they could see was more snow.

"_I_ am sure? What about you? Severus hissed back. "You were the one going on about having taken this road a million times, not me."

"So basically none of us have any clue to where we are?" Remus asked as he once more was thrown back by the wind.

"That sounds pretty much right." Severus answered, pulling him up again.

"Now this is just great." Remus yelled. "Where the hell are we? If only we could get a sign, a small hint to where in the bloody world we are located."

Severus had to choke back a laugh. He was just as frustrated as Remus, but the werewolf never used to get this pissed, and that somewhat amused Severus.

Remus let out a howl, remarkably like the ones Moony usually did once a month, when the both of them was knocked over by something that wasn't the wind.

"What was that?" Severus called out, lying on his back finally catching his breath.

"That, my dear, was our sign." Remus yelled back. "Watch out! Here it comes again. Roll towards me ,Severus. Quickly!"

Severus barely managed to move in time before a huge branch came smacking down right beside him. He managed to crawl over to Remus who was sitting close to a huge trunk of a tree.

"Follow me." he said, both of them crawling over to a knot in the trunk. Remus prodded the knot with his wand making the tree freeze and led them both into a hole in the tree.

"At least now we know where we are, and we're not that far away from the castle," Remus smiled.

Severus looked around the dark narrow passage. "This certainly brings back memories."

"I'm sorry." Remus started. "You know I never meant to…"

"It's fine, Remus," Severus interrupted. "It wasn't your fault, and we all know it. Besides, it turned out great in the end, didn't it?"

"Yeah, it did." Remus smiled back. "Now shall we continue our adventurous journey?"

"Indeed. As much as I hate parties, I'm not staying in this place any more than necessarily." Severus grabbed his partner's hand and both of them put their hoods as far over their faces as they possibly could and prepared for the cold and white hitting them in the face once more.

Remus prodded the knot so they wouldn't be hit by the Whomping Willow and lead the way, while Severus followed close behind him, ready to catch him if he was knocked over again.

Luckily for then both, the wind had calmed down a bit, and they could actually see a bit of the ground in front of them.

Both wizards were getting tired from walking in the heavy snow, and neither of them knew exactly what happened as Lupin suddenly slipped halfway up the final and steepest hill, taking Severus with him in the fall.

They slid downhill for several yards before managing to stop. Severus got to his feet and was ready to help the other wizard up when he saw Remus lying on the ground face down screaming into the snow, hitting the ground with both fists.

"Will this ever end? How freaking hard can it be to get to this stupid castle?" Remus turned and screamed to the sky.

Severus didn't answer, but held out his hand to help the other man up. Severus was getting just as frustrated, but stayed calm for Remus' sake. He patted him on the back, took his hand and said calmly. "Come on, Remus. We're nearly there. The hot chocolate is waiting for you after this last hill." Remus smiled back at him, and they continued walking.

They finally reached the castle doors without any further problems. Severus opened the door, they went inside and was met by an empty and half dark entrance hall.

"Where is everybody?" Remus asked confused.

"Probably in the Great Hall," Severus suggested and they started to walk in that direction.

But there was no one in the great hall either. Both stood there, drained of energy and utterly bewildered when Peeves came flying through the room laughing extremely. "The wolfman is too late. The wolf missed the party. No one to bite here. Everyone is sleeping. You missed the party. You missed the party."

"Shut up, Peeves!" Severus shouted. "We get it!"

He looked at his partner who was getting the most disappointed look in his face.

"We…. Missed it? It's over?" Remus was almost crying at this point. "All this for nothing?"

Severus never looked forward to this party, but couldn't help but feeling sorry for Remus. He also admitted to himself that it would have been nice to have been met with some good food and drinks after all this struggle. The people he could still do without.

Remus stood paralyzed staring at the empty room.

"Come, Remus. I have some contacts in the kitchen. I'll have some food waiting for us in our room when we get down there. It's been a long day. You've earned some rest and a decent meal." Severus took his boyfriend's hand and pulled him into a hug.

"Hot chocolate too?" Remus asked.

"I promised you that, didn't I?" Severus smiled back and sent a silvery wolf out of his wand and towards the kitchen.

"Come on, Remus. Let's get some rest." he said leading them towards the dungeons.

They had only walked a couple of steps when Remus suddenly stopped.

"You know what, Severus?" he said to the man. "I really hate snow!"

"That, my dear," Severus answered and kissed him lightly. "Is the most sensible thing you have said all day."


End file.
